Anyone who's been around Portland (or any large city for that matter) has encountered their fair share of people asking for spare change. Whenever I find myself in that situation I usually respond with a quick, "No, sorry," whether or not I actually do have some change in my pocket.
I immediately feel a little guilty afterwards, but I tell myself that if the person really needed a meal, they could probably get some kind of help at one of the homeless shelters in town. Maybe that's not realistic, but I believe that if you want help, you can get help.
It's after these encounters that I find myself wishing that I had a coupon for a free burger or something that I could give out instead of change. If the panhandler is sincere about his wish for money for food then they'd probably be grateful if they got a free meal. If he were disappointed, then I'd guess that he was probably after my change for booze or drugs. No real loss there.
A commenter on this post about panhandling over at Metrobloging Portland pointed out that Sisters of the Road, a non-profit restaurant located in Old Town/China Town, sells meal vouchers for two dollars apiece. A couple of those in my wallet could be a nice thing to have next time someone asks me for change.
We'll see how that goes.
The appropriate response is "fuck off, vagrant". Geeze, show, didn't I teach you anything?
Err..Sho. Me No Speeel Gud.
Yeah, but "fuck off" isn't the most polite response and could result in me getting stabbed, and I'm allergic to stabbings. Or, it could result in me getting harassed or yelled at by a crazy homeless guy, and I'd rather just avoid those situations. Stabbings, mostly.
My policy is change until I can remember their face and then only if I feel like it